1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to travel management systems. In particular, the invention relates to a travel management system that utilizes multiple computer reservation systems (CRSs).
2. Description of Related Art
Market forces are driving on-line service providers of point-to-point travel reservation services to expand support beyond dependence on predominant computer reservation systems (CRSs), particularly global distribution systems (GDSs), as the only source of availability, pricing, and booking capabilities. The term CRS generally denotes GDSs and direct connect CRSs. A GDS is a set of internally networked databases, and the business logic that ties them together, for the primary purpose of managing the sale of airline, car rental, and hotel inventories. Today's GDSs include APOLLO, SABRE, WORLDSPAN, AMADEUS, and many others. A GDS is connected to a number of independent CRSs with which the GDS has a business relationship. For example, a GDS may be connected to a CRS for airline travel items (e.g. SOUTHWEST AIRLINES), a CRS for rental car travel items (e.g. HERTZ), and a CRS for hotel travel items (e.g. HOLIDAY INN). Moreover, many CRSs can now be connected to directly, to make reservations (often termed bookings) without going through a GDS, and are thus termed direct connect CRSs such as, for example: a direct connect CRS for airline reservations (e.g. CONTINENTAL AIRLINES), a direct connect CRS for car reservations (e.g. ALLIED), a direct connect CRS for hotel reservations (e.g. RAMADA), etc.
Fundamentally, on-line service providers of travel reservation services offer a user-friendly interface to the same CRS functionality used by most modem travel agencies. Most on-line travel service providers, like travel agencies, utilize a single GDS for their travel bookings. The on-line systems perform four basic functions by:
1. Translating user requests for information into the language of the CRS,
2. Transmitting the request,
3. Receiving the CRS response, and
4. Interpreting the CRS response back into a recognizable display for the user.
Travel agencies store individual travel booking records in database records called passenger name records (PNRs). These records store the customer's personal information and individual reservation summaries for each airline reservation segment, car rental segment, and hotel segment contained in the booking. The summaries include a reference to the actual location of the inventory held by the segment. The segment source can be located in another part of the GDS or externally at another system on the network. The PNR establishes and maintains the relationship of the segments to each other to form a single integrated trip, or booking record. Business logic built into the GDS manages the individual PNR travel item segments to ensure that a booking change to one or more segments results in an update to every segment.
Much of the functionality exhibited by the PNR used by travel agencies has been duplicated by on-line travel service providers, such that today's on-line travel service providers offer many of the same advantages of using a travel agency. Furthermore, on-line travel service providers provide advantages above and beyond the traditional travel agency by ease-of-use, e.g., the client can simply log on to the on-line travel service provider's web site to quickly and easily make travel reservations without having to deal with a travel agency.
Unfortunately, both travel agencies and today's on-line travel service providers are very limited in that they only deal with one CRS, typically a GDS (e.g. APOLLO or SABRE), for all their travel items (e.g. air, car, hotel). Thus, clients of the travel agency or on-line travel service provider are limited to the particular vendors used by the particular GDS. Accordingly, clients often cannot get the best available travel item, or the best available price on the travel item, and are offered very limited choices, or no choices at all. For example, an on-line service provider may use a GDS that only utilizes the vendor UNITED AIRLINES for airline reservations. Unfortunately, SOUTHWEST AIRLINES (e.g. which is only available thru another GDS) may have a better price and a better departure and arrival time for the client. Thus, today's on-line service providers and travel agencies typically only deal with one CRS (e.g. a GDS) and do not give clients a selection of travel items from different CRSs such that the client can choose the best travel items to suit their needs.